As I See It: On being host and being hosted

t is a little disconcerting to think of your child as a grandmother. But facts are facts.

By Harriett Gustason

Journal Standard

By Harriett Gustason

Posted Nov. 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 11, 2012 at 10:22 AM

By Harriett Gustason

Posted Nov. 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 11, 2012 at 10:22 AM

Freeport, Ill.

It is a little disconcerting to think of your child as a grandmother. But facts are facts.

This past Sunday my daughter and son-in-law came from Iowa City and my granddaughter and her two children came from Chicago and we had a little party, a little birthday party, for a just-turning 5 grandson.

Iowa daughter had called to see if that would be all right, and of course it was. It cut the travel time for those coming from both directions. Daughter told me not to worry about food, she’d bring it. Now you can’t turn down an offer like that can you?

She told me to go ahead to church as they wouldn’t get here much before noon. So I did, leaving the church before the closing so I could be here when the kids arrived. Well, of course when I got home the Iowans had already gotten there and daughter had things about ready to go for our meal. The Chicagoans arrived soon after.

My daughter is so efficient, way ahead of her mother in organizing things. She had brought this huge chicken potpie and the birthday cake. I had gotten some deli stuff including ice cream to complement what daughter was bringing. Great-grandson Josh was the birthday boy, big brother to Chloe his sister soon to be 2.. They are quite a pair.

It’s been a while since I’ve been around a two-year-old and seeing her in action brought it all back to me. I understood why their mother was moving breakables to out-of-reach levels. (I’ve been finding things in strange places ever since. No problem though.)

Oh yes, those “terrible twos,” but she wasn’t terrible. Her mother was just trying to protect the environment. Boy! Are kids ever precocious these days! That 2-year-old talks in complete sentences and makes herself quite clear. She sang “Farmer in the Dell,” basically carrying the tune. She and her brother play well together — by and large — with only an occasional outburst over possession rights.

Daughter had brought her grandson some wrapped packages which contained a little hand-held game which he played with most of the day, and also some one-piece flannel jammies with feet in them which he had to try on and kept on until his mother dressed him for the ride home. Little sister got a pair too, and of course she too had to immediately try on. Both pairs fit perfectly and they looked so snug and cuddly in them. I wondered to myself if they made those in adult sizes, but decided nah, they might not be so practical for me.

I hadn’t tried to go shopping because I didn’t know what they already have, so I gave Josh a $20 bill which he thought was a dollar, but his mother explained it to him and said he could pick out something for himself, maybe a book or two. I like giving books for gifts, nice keepers.

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I read to my kids, and daughter did to hers, and granddaughter does to hers. I believe that is the coziest warmest bonding time between mothers – or fathers — and their children, and hopefully it encourages children to love books. My kids still talk about some of those we shared. A few of the chapter books I read aloud three times as my five children kind of came at intervals of pairs. One of the books had a pompous but lovable character who just knew everything and was perfect for impersonating when reading aloud. I enjoyed hamming it up as much as the kids. Anyway … we had a great time at our birthday party.

Candles on the birthday cake were shaped like kids’ Lego building blocks. It was after dark when the kids left in both directions, but both gave me a quick call back when they got home.

Turning to Other Things

People have inquired about our Lunch Bunch’s status, even men surprisingly. Well, our get-togethers have been fragmented for some time due to some health problems, one thing or another. But guess what, we’ve recently all been together for two Sundays in a row. It has felt so good having us all back again.

Betty Stebbins had us all out to Oakley Courts as guests for Sunday dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was such a nice meal, a cozy event with our own little dining room. I’d had my granddaughter overnight but Betty said bring her along, so I did. People at Oakley are so cordial. We took a walk around the corridors, during which I saw my former neighbor, Jim Brubaker, looking pert.

Another Special Outing

Then Dee and I had an outing in the Stockton area. Ilene Lamm invited us to join her and her husband Joe for lunch at Stella’s Café in Stockton. After a fine lunch, which was incidentally one of the Golden Meals, the Lamms took us out to the farm of their son, Mark, and his wife, Shelly. We got to see their picturesque country home and the horses they were exercising when we arrived.

After some more sight-seeing we went to Ilene and Joe’s farm on the other side of Stockton. Theirs too is a peaceful rural scene where you can see sky all around the rolling landscape. We sat in their cozy living room and visited until Ilene called us to the dining room for dessert, cider and more leisurely conversation.

As we headed home to Freeport, Dee and I talked over the day spent with these nice folks, and how we enjoyed viewing the terrain of Jo Daviess County, a share of America the beautiful.

Harriett Gustason is a columnist for The Journal-Standard. She can be reached at (815) 235-3855 or hg3855@comcast.com.